(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a device for the disposal of human waste matter, specifically a toilet. The invention features a series of improvements upon the common “siphon jet” design.
(2) Description of Related Art
Within the field of sewage and sanitation, the toilet featuring a direct channel from the flush valve into a siphon jet is a well-known improvement upon previous designs. This is so by virtue of the addition of this dedicated channel, whose primary function is to feed water into a jet in the well of a toilet. Such a configuration has been demonstrated to assist in removing more waste than was possible with previous configurations, while using less water.
In contrast to the siphon jet system, the vast majority of flush valves found in toilets consist of a simple flapper or some other kind of valve that controls the flow of flushing water. Such a mechanism is generally combined with an overflow tube, which provides a direct feed from the tank to the toilet bowl, and which thus prevents tank overflow in the event that the tank's filling valve fails to form a complete seal subsequent to flushing. In this conventional type of configuration the overflow tube's connection to the toilet bowl is generally two-fold; in the first instance, the overflow tube is routed directly into the siphon jet, while a secondary, diverted flow feeds into a rim feed channel, also known a an overflow channel. The overflow channel is also in part responsible for refilling the toilet pan after each flush.
Additionally, in this standard sort of configuration, the overflow tube is open to the atmosphere. Consequently, any channels connected to the overflow tube below the flush valve within the toilet bowl, including a siphon jet, will be partially aerated, usually at a point above the bowl's water spot surface. The “air pockets” so formed cannot be entirely removed until well into the flushing cycle, if at all, as water entering the interconnected piping fights to move in the opposite direction of the trapped air that is simultaneously exiting the system. The loss of energy and velocity of the water entering the bowl is the result of this dynamic, wherein trapped air is forced to push in at least two directions. On the one hand, the air will force itself downwards, out of the jet channel itself; on the other, the air will disperse upwards from the gap in the jet channel, which in conventional toilets, will unavoidably exist between the flush valve and the resting water spot level.
In an effort to reduce water use, toilet manufacturers have begun to use larger sized flush valves, often three inches in diameter or more, in order to speedup the flow of water. Such a measure, however, can at best partially ameliorate the abovementioned problems with regards to the conventional siphon jet configuration as described. Accordingly, the present invention describes a way to increase head pressure within the common siphon jet toilet system, thereby retaining what would otherwise be, with a conventional system, an unavoidably higher expenditure of energy, water and time.